1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card connector assembly, and particularly to a card connector assembly which is used in a portable electronic device and which can be easily replaced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Card connector assemblies are commonly used to transmit signals from a card to a central processing unit of an electronic device. Data stored in any one typical card is limited, so the electronic device must typically receive different cards to perform different functions. Therefore, card connector assemblies must be designed to facilitate insertion and removal of cards. A conventional card connector assembly is typically mounted in an electronic device at a position such that a card is inserted into the connector assembly from an edge of the electronic device. FIG. 5 which shows a conventional card connector assembly 20xe2x80x2 taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,764. Contacts 14xe2x80x2 in the card connector assembly 20xe2x80x2 are connected to a flexible printed circuit board 50xe2x80x2. The flexible printed circuit board 50xe2x80x2 is pressed onto a printed circuit board (PCB) 12xe2x80x2 by a presser 30xe2x80x2, to establish an electrical connection.
However, this configuration requires free space at an edge of the electronic device, to enable a card to be inserted into the card connector ssembly 20xe2x80x2. As electronic devices are being made smaller and smaller, the egion around the edge of an electronic device is increasingly being used for ther purposes such as providing input/output connectors. Thus the free space required by the card connector assembly 20xe2x80x2 is becoming less and less available. Additionally, replacing the card connector assembly 20xe2x80x2 with another card connector assembly is cumbersome and time-consuming.
Therefore, an improved card connector assembly is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a card connector assembly which when mounted in an electronic device does not require a card to be extended though an edge of the electronic device to enter the connector assembly.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a card connector assembly which when mounted in an electronic device is easily replaced by another card connector assembly.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, a card connector assembly for a portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention comprises a support board positioned at an opening defined at a top surface of an enclosure of the electronic device, a card connector with a plurality of terminals received therein, a flexible printed circuit board, and a connection mechanism. Two pivots are formed on respective opposite lateral sides of a portion of the support board. The card connector is fixed on the support board. One end of the flexible printed circuit board connects with the terminals received in the card connector, and the other end of the flexible printed circuit board connects with a PCB. The connection mechanism connect the flexible printed circuit board with the PCB. Thus, signals stored in a card inserted in the card connector can be transferred to the PCB though the card connector and the flexible printed circuit board.
To change the card inserted in the card connector, the support board is rotatably lifted out from an enclosure of the electronic device until the card connector is in an upwardly inclined orientation relative to the enclosure. This enables easy removal and insertion of the relevant cards. Finally, the support board is rotated downwardly to cover the opening.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.